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Soon after Leonard Cohen passed (some six months ago) Wendy DuMond and I were talking about him, grieving a bit, and the idea came up that we should try doing a song of his together, a duet.

"Joan of Arc" was from one of his early albums, "Songs of Love and Hate." That's the album Nick Cave says molded him, as a boy, into one who dreamed of being a songwriter and artist.

It's a song that has one of Cohen's best couplets--the last two lines of the song, where he breaks the 4th wall and his omniscient narration and talks as himself.

I believe Leonard Cohen's songs will endure the passage of time and remain a treasure for folks for many many generations to come. They are well crafted and personal, and he embraced and found beauty in all of life's mystery and elevated it and made us embrace it too.

I'm not sure I will change anything at this point, but Wendy and I wanted to share our work here with you, and we hope you enjoy our pretty faithful cover..

Now the flames they followed Joan of Arcas she came riding through the dark;no moon to keep her armour bright,no man to get her through this very smoky night.She said, "I'm tired of the war,I want the kind of work I had before,a wedding dress or something whiteto wear upon my swollen appetite."

Well, I'm glad to hear you talk this way,you know I've watched you riding every dayand something in me yearns to winsuch a cold and lonesome heroine."And who are you?" she sternly spoketo the one beneath the smoke."Why, I'm fire," he replied,"And I love your solitude, I love your pride."

"Then fire, make your body cold,I'm going to give you mine to hold,"saying this she climbed insideto be his one, to be his only bride.And deep into his fiery hearthe took the dust of Joan of Arc,and high above the wedding guestshe hung the ashes of her wedding dress.

It was deep into his fiery hearthe took the dust of Joan of Arc,and then she clearly understoodif he was fire, oh then she must be wood.I saw her wince, I saw her cry,I saw the glory in her eye.Myself I long for love and light,but must it come so cruel, and oh so bright?

******************************************************************************************.Wendy DuMond - Lead and Harmony VocalsMichael Zaneski - Lead and Harmony VocalsArranged and Produced by Michael ZaneskiWords and Music by Leonard Cohen (C) 1971

Last edited by Michael Zaneski; 05/06/1711:10 AM.

Fate doesn't hang on a wrong or right choiceFortune depends on the tone of your voice

-The Divine Comedy (Neil Hannon)from the song "Songs of Love"from the album "Casanova" (1996)

A remarkable and memorable "cover" of Cohen's work. Thanks, Michael and Wendy for taking all the time and trouble to do this lengthy and difficult song... and share it with us. Loved the harmonies and I hope somebody in "the biz" takes note and wants to promote it.

On another note, Mr. Zaneski, I am pleased to inform you that the demo you did for me, "I Remember Autumn"... now relegated to the second page of this forum... is about to hit 5,000 "listens" here at JPF and, among your other accomplishments, is pretty significant to my way of thinking. Thanks to you and thanks to all who have listened. We owe you so much and appreciate your talent that covers so many important aspects of music and music creation.

A remarkable and memorable "cover" of Cohen's work. Thanks, Michael and Wendy for taking all the time and trouble to do this lengthy and difficult song... and share it with us. Loved the harmonies and I hope somebody in "the biz" takes note and wants to promote it.

On another note, Mr. Zaneski, I am pleased to inform you that the demo you did for me, "I Remember Autumn"... now relegated to the second page of this forum... is about to hit 5,000 "listens" here at JPF and, among your other accomplishments, is pretty significant to my way of thinking. Thanks to you and thanks to all who have listened. We owe you so much and appreciate your talent that covers so many important aspects of music and music creation.

This project was a labor of love, and even though I've known and sung the song for years, certain things about the lyric never occurred to me 'til this time, like the really conversational tone and the little bits of humor that come from that, like "I'm tired of the war..I want the kind of work I had before" and the kind of funny, disingenuous answer "fire" gives Joan when she asks who he is and he replies simply, "I'm fire" (I mean..she could SEE that, LOL..) before going on, rather devilishly, to add "and I love your solitude and I love your pride" So was Joan's visitation not from God? It seems Cohen was more interested in creating a fertile mystery than answering questions. Letting fire just be fire does just that. Bravo.

Songs can be like literature in that their meanings can grow or morph or change over the years..I mean..some songs..most of Cohen's for sure..

Working with Wendy is always a joy, and on a song that we both loved from our favorite songwriter? A double joy, just to be in that process of creation and collaboration..

Dave: Congrats on 5000 hits on "I Remember Autumn" ..that means a lot to me, too. I know it's a song that's special to you, so I am very happy to have served it well..

Thanks Martin, for your continued support and for your beautiful songs (as well) that mean so much to me..

Thank all for listening and the kind words.

Mike

Last edited by Michael Zaneski; 05/07/1712:10 PM.

Fate doesn't hang on a wrong or right choiceFortune depends on the tone of your voice

-The Divine Comedy (Neil Hannon)from the song "Songs of Love"from the album "Casanova" (1996)

Vic, I love Elvis Costello. Who would have predicted that with everything that came out of the New Wave, Punk and Pub (music scenes) in the late seventies, that he would be one of the few still relevant today? (Sting..who else?) I love Elvis/Declan's later collabs with Bacharach where he really does stretch as a singer, and sounds great.

Thanks again!

Mike

Last edited by Michael Zaneski; 05/11/1708:31 PM.

Fate doesn't hang on a wrong or right choiceFortune depends on the tone of your voice

-The Divine Comedy (Neil Hannon)from the song "Songs of Love"from the album "Casanova" (1996)

Hey ya'll. I just wanted to pop-in and say thank you for listening to this. I confess that I cried when I heard Leonard had passed away. I was so happy when Mike said he would be game with doing a cover of one of his songs as a tribute. I suggested Joan of Arc because there is a great live version he did as a duet with his former partner, Jennifer Warnes.

Someone once told me that his take on Leonard was that Leonard wrote in a room sandwiched in between a church and a bordello. I think Joan of Arc came out of that church/bordello pairing, like most of his work. I've always thought the lines referring to Joan's wedding dress and her swollen appetite referred to a pregnancy. Like if Joan could have been a normal woman she would have married and had children. But the fire of religious fervor can be deadly. Just look at world history.

There was always a bit of sly humor in everything he wrote, as Mike pointed-out. Sometimes I think people miss the humor in his work. But it is there. I don't think Leonard was nearly as much of a "downer" as people thought he was.

Mike did an amazing job with this and I am just happy that I was able to do something small along with him. I will always miss Leonard. But I am glad he left us such a musical legacy to strive for.

Just wow! So glad i clicked on this post and gave it a listen. Wonderful. Congrats to both of you. Awesome cover. As much as I love Cohen's "Hallelulah," I am glad you chose this tune to cover instead. such great artistry!

Love this duet and the harmonies are incredible... Great work as usual! Leonard Cohen was a master of his craft and someone I think we should all look up to! Makes me proud to be from Montreal. They've just recently started work on a mural dedicated to him, and I can't help be look up every time I pass it.

So many of my musical heroes have passed on now..it's depressing to think about..but I agree, and I look up to Mr. Cohen and it's a steep upward gaze for sure. Love nearly everything he did, including the frequently panned album Spector produced. (Wouldn't THAT make a great "moment in time" biopic? Spector holding LC hostage..at gunpoint? Haha..)

Anyway, thanks..I value your opinion highly..

Mike

Last edited by Michael Zaneski; 06/25/1704:10 PM.

Fate doesn't hang on a wrong or right choiceFortune depends on the tone of your voice

-The Divine Comedy (Neil Hannon)from the song "Songs of Love"from the album "Casanova" (1996)

What a beautiful duet of a song that reminds me of something Simon & Garfunkel might have done. You guys did a wonderful job and deserve all the kudos coming your way. I look forward to hearing more from you!

Gawd you have great voices on this cover! I'd bet Cohen never had such a deep layered arrangement on any of his records, so this really is a tribute. Works well to orchestrate Cohens unique prosa this way. Well done and congratulations!

Every day, at least one Leonard Cohen song runs through my mind (today it was "I Can't Forget") --his work is ingrained into my psyche, I even love his novel "Beautiful Losers" (read it thrice) --it has some of the most beautiful and obsessive prose poetry I've ever read..